PCC Live! Our Lady Peace

Although originally from Windsor, Canada, the musical stylings of Our Lady Peace bring to mind images of Starbucks, the Space Needle, and the music scene of Seattle. Our Lady Peace combines the brutal honest and open lyricism of Nirvana with a slightly more mainstream, wider-appealing rock sound. Currently on tour to promote their second album, "Clumsy," I was able to catch the band as they took stage at the Orbit Room in Grand Rapids, Michigan. While I had doubts beforehand whether or not the band could successfully carry the energy of their recorded performance into the live environment, my doubts ended as soon as the band took the stage.

The band opened the one-and-a-half hour set with the high-energy, explosive single, "Automatic Flowers," setting the pace for the evening. This song was followed up by "Naveed" as the band continued to keep the audience in a frenzy. The band did not let down as the evening went on; later the band performed "Superman's Dead," "Shaking" ,and finally closed the set with "Starseed", the popular single from the band's first CD. These songs were all performed well, and were certainly enjoyed by the crowd.

However, it was some of the bands less frantic songs which were most impressive. After electrifying the atmosphere with its first two songs, the band slowed things up with "Car Crash", "Carnival" and "4 am" In these songs, lead singer Raine Maida became transparent, hitting the audience hard with raw emotion, which is a wonderful contrast with the straightforward power of the band's other songs. "Clumsy," the first song in the band's two-song encore, was the pinnacle of the band's emotional outpouring.

Maida, although perhaps lacking in energy, possesses a natural charisma which leads to a commanding stage presence. His being on the stage is enough to make their live act more enjoyable than the CD experience. Our Lady Peace is obviously not a band for everybody. However, if you enjoy the alternative sound which developed in the early-90's, and find yourself lamenting the demise of this genre of music by copycats and wannabes, you will enjoy Our Lady Peace. They are the cornerstone on which a redefined Seattle-sound should be built.